MX23RW : Friday, January 10 07:36:24| >> :600:334812:334812:

Gareth Southgate: 'Adam Lallana best player in England team'

Gareth Southgate believes that Adam Lallana is England's brightest creative spark and "best player" rather than Dele Alli.

Gareth Southgate has identified Adam Lallana, rather than Dele Alli, as England's brightest creative spark.

The Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder is available for the Three Lions again following a one-match suspension.

While Alli is believed by many to be England's talisman, Southgate has instead bestowed that honour upon Liverpool star Lallana, who is currently out injured.

"In my year in charge, Adam Lallana has been our best player and we've not had him for the last three matches," Southgate told The Telegraph. "There are some players who can unlock defences and score goals.

"Dele is an interesting player. If you analyse his game closely he's a scorer of goals and he's not necessarily the link player Adam is.

"So, perceptions of players and their actual particular skill sets and areas where they are effective is not what's commonly perceived. I go to games and I look at one person and how he plays, so you see the different attributes.

"Dele's biggest strengths are arriving in the box, timing his runs, finishing and scoring goals. If he can add consistency into his touch and creativity of pass into that, he'll be a better player than he already is."

England take on Lithuania in their final World Cup qualifier on Sunday knowing that their place in next summer's tournament is already secured.

ID:309054: cacheID:309054:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2326:
Written by
Giuseppe Labellarte
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Interim England manager Gareth Southgate on the touchline during the international friendly with Spain at Wembley on November 15, 2016
Read Next:
Southgate: 'England have no big players'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool19144147192846
2Arsenal20117239182140
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest20124429191040
4Chelsea20106439241536
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle20105534221235
6Manchester CityMan City2010463627934
7Bournemouth209653023733
8Aston Villa209563032-232
9Fulham207943027330
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2061043029128
11Brentford208393835327
12Tottenham HotspurSpurs20731042301224
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd206592328-523
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham206592439-1523
15Crystal Palace204972128-721
16Everton193881525-1017
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2044123145-1416
18Ipswich TownIpswich2037102035-1516
19Leicester CityLeicester2035122344-2114
20Southampton2013161244-326


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!